Harvard to Equalize Wages After Freeze

The University has set guidelines for equalizing salary increases under Phase II, and is studying the possibility of retroactive payments of wages lost because of President Nixon's 90-day wage-price freeze.

In a memorandum to deans and department heads yesterday, Daniel Steiner '54, general counsel to the University, also gave the go ahead to submit for approval proposed pay increases that had not been processed earlier because of the freeze, which ended Saturday.

Room and board, the price of athletic tickets, application fees for admission to the College, and other standards that were rolled back to 1970-71 levels during the freeze will remain there for the present, Steiner said yesterday afternoon.

"I can't make heads nor tails of the new price regulations, nor could four other lawyers I talked to, so we will leave prices where they are until further regulations are issued by the government," he said.

Steiner received the first Phase II regulations for wages and prices yesterday morning.

Harvard's policy with regard to wages is split into two categories.

In cases where a pay increase for a group of employees had been announced for the 1971-72 academic year prior to the freeze, and only some members of the group received raises because of the freeze, the salary level for the entire group will now be equalized at the higher 1971-72 level.

The chief example of this category, Steiner said, is teaching fellows on the Faculty. While many fellows hold appointments from July 1, about 550 did not receive 1971-72 contracts until early September when the wage-price regulations were already in effect.

Now, under Phase II, those 550 will receive pay hikes effective immediately, bringing senior teaching fellows' salaries up to the 1971-72 level of $7600. Senior teaching fellows received $7000 last year.

Paid in "Fifths"

Junior fellows will also be getting a $600 raise, but because teaching fellows are paid on the basis of "fifths," the increase will amount to only $120 for each "fifth" a fellow teaches.

The "fifths" system splits the full salary of a teaching fellow into five parts; a fellow receives one-fifth for each section he or she teaches. Most teaching fellows are hired at a two-fifths or three-fifths rate, Steiner said.

The second wage category applies to cases in which scheduled or proposed increases were held up because of the freeze. All such cases are now being reviewed by the University, and all increases will be put into effect so far as the Phase II guidelines permit, Steiner said.

This second category mostly affects individuals--associate professors or wage and salary employees--due to receive September 1 pay increases that were approved before the wage-price freeze.

Steiner's memorandum also says that the University is "exploring the question of retroactive payments" for wages lost during the first two months of the school year because of the freeze. Again, the group most affected is teaching fellows, Steiner said.

"For any employee for whom we can make a good case for retroactive wages, either by applying the rules set out by Phase II or by going to the Federal Pay Board, we will do so," he added.

The new guidelines specify that although pay increases may not appear on November pay checks because of the Thanksgiving push to get the checks out early, the increases are effective immediately.

The memorandum also clears the way for new proposed pay increases in departments. As a general rule, however, annual aggregate increases will be limited to 5.5 per cent, including benefits, and will be effective no earlier than the first pay period beginning after November 13.

Steiner said this rule is being applied for the time being because it is unclear whether the Phase II guidelines place a 5.5 per cent ceiling on pay hikes averaged for categories of employees, on the payroll as a whole, or on individual raises.

Steiner estimated that the University has spent about $10,000 so far in administrative costs brought on by the wage-price controls. He said that the costs will rise as new government guidelines are met in the next few months